Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers guests on the new episode of the Rock & Roll High School podcast. Hosted by two-time Grammy Award–winning producer and music executive Pete Ganbarg, the podcast tells the story of contemporary music one artist at a time — in their own words.
When people talk about the great American bands of the 1970s, The Doobie Brothers are always part of the conversation. Across more than five decades, the band has navigated multiple eras, lineups, and styles—moving seamlessly between biker bar rock, California harmony pop, blue-eyed soul, and FM radio classics while remaining one of the most enduring touring and recording acts in rock history.
At the center of that story from the very beginning is Patrick Simmons — guitarist, vocalist, and/or songwriter behind some of the band’s most beloved songs including “Black Water,” “Jesus Is Just Alright” and “Listen To The Music.”
In this conversation, Patrick reflects on the formation of the band in Northern California, the Doobies’ unlikely rise in the early 1970s, their evolution through multiple musical eras, and the balancing act of maintaining a band identity through decades of change. We also discuss songwriting, harmony singing, life on the road, the band’s enduring live popularity, and what it means to still be making music together more than 50 years later.
On the Doobie Brothers celebrating over 50 years together: “I always knew I would be good friends with those guys for a long time from the first time we met and started hanging out. That was really the basis of our relationship. Certainly as a musician, I respected Tom and John Hartman, those two guys were my first real connection to the band. I always knew I would be friends with them and then we played music together and that was really enjoyable and then finally they invited me to come and play a gig with them and that was the beginning of the band as it is. But I don’t think I had any idea that we would be doing it this long.”
On initially signing with Warner Bros. Records: “They kinda took us for a ride. They took all the money and we got pennies… It was the one record and then Warner had the option and they had decided not to pick up our option at the time.”
On “Black Water” becoming a #1 song from a B side: “Those were the days where something like that could happen. It was a happy accident.”
This episode is a firsthand look at one of America’s defining rock bands—from someone who helped build it from day one. Listen here.
New episodes will launch every Thursday and are available to stream everywhere here, or at rockschoolpodcast.com.
The newly launched fifth season of the Rock & Roll High School podcast promises an exciting lineup of iconic musicians and unique stories with artists who have all shaped contemporary music. Over the course of Season 5, listeners will enjoy in-depth and revealing conversations with music legends such as Colin Hay (Men At Work), Gary U.S. Bonds, industry trailblazer Richard Gottehrer, Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina), Jonathan Cain (Journey), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Lenny Kaye, Judy Collins, and many more. This season will explore the personal and professional lives of these iconic figures, uncovering the stories behind their careers and most beloved hits.
Rock & Roll High School originated from Ganbarg’s vision of teaching a rock ‘n’ roll history class to his young creative team at Atlantic Records during the 16 years he headed up that label’s A&R department. His goal was to deepen their understanding of music history, providing a broader perspective on the roots of contemporary music in order to help identify future talent. The initiative eventually expanded to include the entire Warner Music Group staff. Ganbarg further developed the concept by inviting music icons for in-person and virtual interviews, enriching the program with firsthand insights.
Season 5 builds on the success of the first four seasons, which have collectively garnered over 150,000 downloads. Previous episodes have featured interviews with iconic figures such as Graham Nash, Nile Rodgers, The Temptations, Kenny Loggins, Clive Davis, Stevie Van Zandt, Chaka Khan, Ann Wilson (Heart), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Todd Rundgren, Peter Frampton, Lamont Dozier, Jimmy Webb, Bryan Adams, and many others.
About Pete Ganbarg:
Pete Ganbarg is a 2X Grammy Award winning record producer, A&R executive and music publisher who has been doing major label A&R for the past 35 years and is currently the president of Pure Tone Music. Most recently President of A&R for Atlantic Records from 2008 – 2024, Pete currently operates two music publishing companies, Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music. Some of the artists that Pete has worked with in his career include Santana (the 9X Grammy winning album “Supernatural”), Lin-Manuel Miranda (the Diamond certified “Hamilton” cast album), as well as contemporary stars (Twenty One Pilots, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez), all time classic artists (Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, America) and hit Broadway cast recordings and film soundtracks (Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, The Greatest Showman). Some of the songs published by Pete’s companies include Miley Cyrus’ Grammy award winning Record of the Year, “Flowers,” and Alex Warren’s global #1 hit “Ordinary,” as well as hits by Benson Boone, Charli XCX, Beyoncé, Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Lewis. Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, and more. Pete also teaches semester-long college courses at schools around the country including Boston’s Berklee College of Music, NYU – Tisch/Clive Davis Institute, Wesleyan University and University of New Haven (Connecticut) and serves as a board member of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. He was named International Music Person of the Year for 2023 by the music industry organization MUSEXO.
